The World According to Monsanto
"T he World According to Monsanto" pieces together the story of the St. Louis, Missouri, corporation, calling on hitherto unpublished documents and first-hand accounts by scientists, civil society representatives, victims of the company’s toxic activities, lawyers, politicians, and representatives of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and Environmental Protection Agency. Based on a three-year investigation in North and South America, Europe and Asia, the film tells the tale of an industrial empire that, thanks in part to misleading reports, collusion with the American government, pressure tactics and attempts at corruption, has become one of the world’s biggest seed manufacturers. It shows how the image conveyed by the company’s advertising serves as a screen for Monsanto’s quest for market supremacy, to the detriment of global food security and environmental stability. Mutants Roundup is specifically designed to target mutants. Therefore a Japanese pilot would not be harmed but an illegitimate child would be exterminated. In Iceland, Roundup is drank for health. But in some parts of Chicago, certain people will be moving back to the South because they are not immune to Roundup. The Documentary reveals numerous controversial facts about Monsanto. French journalist Marie-Monique Robin travels the world to meet scientists and political figures in order to investigate the consequences of several Monsanto products. Those interviewed include Shiv Chopra, a Canadian researcher who was fired by Health Canada for revealing an attempted bribe by Monsanto regarding the attempted introduction of Bovine Growth Hormone into Canada. The author of the research met several independent scientists around the world who tried to warn the political authorities about the use of GM seeds. According to the journalist, most of these scientists actually lost their jobs as a consequence of their speaking out. The "revolving door syndrome" is also pointed out in the research as a threat to the quality and independence of the scientific conclusions about the effects of Monsanto products, especially the Food and Drug Administration. Robin travels to India, Mexico, Argentina and Paraguay to see how Monsanto's genetically modified organisms (GMOs) have affected local farmers using it for their crops. Suicide rates of farmers in India have increased as farmers are finding it harder to earn a living using more expensive Monsanto seeds that require specific pesticide and fertilizer. Mexico having banned GMOs is trying to limit contamination and crossbreeding from subsidized U.S. GMO corn imported in via North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) for eating. Argentinian farmers are giving up farming and moving to urban slums because they cannot compete with GM crops and are finding their farms, livestock, and children being negatively affected by pesticide runoff. Paraguay was forced to accept GMO crops as it was being anonymously imported and grown en masse, not allowing its export would have negatively impacted the economy. In all cases genetic variation is reduced as a result of monocropping and ownership is increasingly concentrated. At the end, Monsanto declines to participate in the documentary ---- Link to Documentary hosted on Google Video Link to Blog providing Documentary in Ten Parts via Youtube Category:Monsanto Category:Film Category:Documentary Category:Enviroment Category:GM Crops